(Reuters Credit)

Australia’s Test and ODI captain, Pat Cummins, has endorsed Adelaide Oval as the venue for all future day-night Tests in Australia. The ground has already hosted the highest number of day-night Test matches to date.

Adelaide Oval has been the site of 7 out of the 22 day-night Test matches played so far. Notably, Australia has a flawless record at this venue, winning every day-night Test held there.

The first-ever day-night Test in cricket history also took place at Adelaide Oval, where Australia secured a victory against New Zealand by 3 wickets. In addition to Adelaide, day-night Tests have also been hosted at Brisbane, Hobart, and Perth in Australia.

The impressive track record of Adelaide Oval has led Australian captain Pat Cummins to advocate for the ground as Australia’s designated venue for day-night Tests. Speaking with reporters at the CA’s Play Cricket Week launch in Sydney on Monday, Cummins emphasized that Adelaide Oval has proven to be consistently reliable and ideal for day-night Test matches.

“Adelaide do (pink-ball Tests) really well. The main thing that you’ll hear from all the players, and it’s super consistent, is you’ve got to get the conditions right for a pink-ball Test,” Cummins told the reporters.

Adelaide Oval is notable for being the venue where Australia bowled out India for just 36 runs in the second innings of the first Test of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This performance secured Australia an 8-wicket victory and a 1-0 lead in the series. Despite this, India staged a remarkable comeback, winning two of the next three Tests to clinch the series 2-1.

Cummins also highlighted the importance of favorable conditions in day-night Tests, noting that Adelaide Oval has consistently offered excellent playing conditions.

“Pink-ball Test matches can be a wonderful balance between bat and ball, or if the conditions aren’t quite right, they can be quite boring Test matches. Adelaide has always done it really well, so if they move it away from Adelaide, whoever takes that up, as long as you get the conditions right, it shouldn’t be too different,” the 31-year-old fast bowler said.

“If (the pink ball) gets too soft it’s like a one-day ball, it can get really benign. It just reacts a little bit differently to a red ball. As I said, Adelaide every year has got it spot on,” he added.

Next Day-Night Test at Adelaide Oval

Adelaide Oval is set to host a day-night Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 later this year. Given India’s surprising performance at this venue in the previous series, it will be intriguing to see their performance this time around.

Earlier this year, the Gabba in Brisbane was the venue for a notable pink-ball Test between Australia and the West Indies. In a remarkable turn of events, the West Indies secured a thrilling victory by 8 runs, with young pace sensation Shamar Joseph delivering an exceptional spell of 7-68 to clinch the win for his team.